Ishac Diwan

American University of Beirut 

Professor of the Practice of Economics 

Research Director, Finance for Development Lab at the Paris School of Economics 

Ishac Diwan is a Professor of Practice in Economics at the American University of Beirut. He is also the Research Director of the Finance for Development Lab at the Paris School of Economics. in recent years, Ishac has held teaching positions at Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, Columbia University’s School for International Public Affairs, and at the Harvard Kennedy School. Ishac has a PhD in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

He held positions at the World Bank, working in the Research Complex (1987-92), the Middle East department (1992-96), and the World Bank Institute (1996-2002). He was the World Bank’s Country Director for East (2002-07), and then West Africa (2007-11). His current research interests focus on the political economy of the Middle East, as well as on broader development issues, and international financial issues. His recent (co-authored) books include A Political Economy of the Middle East (Westview Press 2015); and Crony Capitalism in the Middle East (Oxford University Press, 2019). He is published in a variety of journals.